Starfall
by Gryphinwyrm7
Summary: How a Narnian Star became the horrific god of the Calormen.


I am called Coriakin. I was once a great star in the Eastern Skies of Narnia. But now Aslan has tasked me with caring for a group of foolish creatures called Duffers. It is a punishment, but one I take gladly. After what we did, after how we failed Aslan, the Duffers are a blessing.

It is not for the Sons of Adam and Daughters of Eve to know the faults that a star can commit, nor is for the Talking Beasts or Merfolk. I write this for my own Posterity. For the Knowledge to be written in some fashion. It shall be taken to the Library when the account is completed, where it shall remain safe.

When I dwelt in the heavens, with the other stars, we would often look down upon the Lands of Narnia, and the islands and lands to the east. It is a wonderful thing, to dwell in the sky. Ramandu and Tygan were often conversing about the World below. They were looking forward to our old age, when we were to descend to the earth, and live among the Lower Races.

But that was not yet to be. In those days, King Frank and Queen Helen ruled Narnia. Archenland and Calormen did not yet exist as nations. Telmar was a barren wasteland where only wild animals lived.

Jadis, who would become The White Witch and the Emperor's Hangman had not yet claimed either of those titles, was in hiding in the Wild Lands of the North, among some of the giants who had chosen to strike out in that direction. As Jadis was part giant in her own heritage, she found that she had good report with them.

All this, we stars knew, because we could see it below. Stars are not so blind as to the comings and goings of Narnia as the Lower Races might think. After all, our tasks in the heavens is the pointing of signs, and announcing Great events, such as Aslan coming to Narnia.

We have excellent vision and can see much of what happens below. We are also tasked with singing.

When the Lion first stepped into the darkness, the void, the Time Before Creation, he began to sing. He sung the Stars into existence, and then we in turn sang after Him. A song that resounded throughout all of Narnia, from the Deepest depths of Bism, to high above even where we Stars dwelt.

And though it can no longer be heard below, the Song of Creation did not cease. It continued, ever a part of our Dance in the Sky. With it, we sung into existence things which the Lower Races cannot even see or imagine. Our Songs forged comets and auroras. Vast complex nebulas which only the Talking Eagles below could appreciate.

My dearest friend, and one of my Dance partners in the Heavens, was a young star named Athshar. Athshar was an inquisitive and rash star. He would often make changes to the Dance of the Heavens, simply because he wished to know what would happen if he did.

Often I was his partner in crime, as together we would Dance, or play pranks on the other stars. I was very young and foolish then. I grew out of it, thank the Lion, but Ashthar…He did not.

Once he placed a comet in Ramandu's path, and almost ruined the Dance for an entire night, as Ramandu tripped on it, and caused a meteor shower in the Lone Islands. We thought it was great fun, at the time, but did not know how that shower ruined the Lone Islander's crops for the season, and left them hungry for the winter. Ashthar and I seldom thought about the consequences.

But more than anything, Ashthar wished to go the Lower Planes. He wanted to know more about the Peoples we saw below. We knew, that as we aged, we would dance across the skies, and eventually settle down in the Eastern Sea, and rest on one of the Islands, where the Firebirds of the Sun would bring us Fireberries to restore our youth so that we may return to the sky…I too wanted to journey to the Lower Planes…but woe unto us, for the impetuousness of Youth.

Ashthar liked to show off. In the month of Greenroof in the sixty-sixth year of Narnia's existence, Ashthar was showing off for Zardeenah. He was often trying to show off for her. Not that I blamed him in the least. She was the evening star, after all, famed for her beauty.

And she was not so stiff and rigid as Ramandu was. She was bright and gay and cheerful. So, naturally, Ashthar was making an absolute fool of himself. He would sing, and create comets and meteors and other celestial objects, and sending them skipping into the sun. Zardeenah seemed to enjoy it though, and so we continued for some time.

By the by, we glanced down at the Eastern Sea at the edge of the World, and Ashthar said the words that we would all come to regret in the years to come.

"Fancy a trip to the Lower Planes?"

Zardeenah shook her head. "Ashthar, you know it is forbidden."

"What harm can it do?" he pleaded, smiling that roguish smile of his. "It is not as though we will stay there all day. Come now, Zardeenah, Coriakin…Have you not always wondered what it is like down there?"

I glanced down below, staring at the vast blue ocean, and the many islands to the far East.

"We would not tarry," I said. "And it is not as though we are forbidden from entering the Lower Planes forever. It is our Fate to go down there. We are simply…Taking an early peek."

Zardeenah seemed far more hesitant, but still we could see that she was just as curious as we were. And so, in a moment of impetuousness, she spoke.

"As long as we return to the sky before the sun sets in the Lower Planes…"

And that was it. We selected an island in the far East, not far from the edge of the World, and set down. Becoming shooting stars and landing upon its surface.

It was not a large island. Smaller than most. No more than four miles long at it's widest point. And the first thing we noticed, was the smell. The fresh scent of the ocean air, the crisp sounds of the seagulls flying to and fro about the rocks, the crashing of the waves upon the shore; it was unlike anything we had experienced before.

Zardeenah, who had been the most hesitant of the three of us, was the first to set foot upon the grass, running her bare feet in the grass and laughing gaily, beckoning us to follow her.

It was such a simple thing, looking back on it. To simply…Run in the grass. But it was something we had never done before. There is no grass in the sky. Walking…Running…It isn't done. There's the Dance, of course, but it is the Dance of the Heavens. Where Celestial Bodies interact. Not the simple joy of walking on grass.

And so we were quite distracted when we were interrupted by a small voice.

"Hello," it said quietly, and the three of us froze, and turned towards it.

It was a centaur. But not like the centaurs of Narnia. This was a regal animal who had never been seen in those lands. This was a Winged Centaur. It was built like a standard Narnian Centaur, but out of the horse-portion of it's back, where the wings would be on a Winged Horse, were a pair of large white wings.

She was quite young. Still a foal, really, her legs wobbly, and her wings not quite developed. But we must have looked as strange to her as she did to us. None of us had seen a creature from the Lower Planes up close, before.

"Hello, little one," Zardeenah said, trying to sound friendly and non-threatening.

"I am Dia. What are you?" The young Winged-Centaur asked. "You not like father and mother. Are you…gods?"

"No," Ashthar said, honestly. "Nothing quite so plain and ordinary as gods. We are Stars!"

Her eyes widened in surprise and amazement.

"I have never seen a Star up close before," she said, sounding quite excited.

"We have never seen a Winged Centaur up close before," I responded.

"Mother says that the Stars know the song of Creation," the foal said. "That you can sing the auroras and comets into being."

"It is true!" Ashthar said, beaming with pride.

"I have never seen a comet up close, either," Dia said. "Could…Could you make one?"

"I don't know, dear," Zardeenah said, sounding concerned. "Aslan has forbidden the use of the Song on the Earth."

"He also forbade us to come to the Earth before Retirement," Ashthar said. "We have already come this far, I see no harm in a single comet."

Before Zardeenah or I could object, Ashthar opened his mouth and sung the notes of a comet.

The reaction was instantaneous. A flash of white and I was thrown to the ground. I lost consciousness, for how long, I did not know.

When I awakened, the air smelled different. A scent like smoke and burnt meat. It was also new to me, but unlike the fresh sea air, I did not like this scent. It was unpleasant.

The area around us was badly scorched, and covered in a permafrost. And I could see Ashthar huddled nearby, clutching something to his chest. Rocking back and forth. Zardeenah was near me, still unconscious.

"Ashthar?" I asked, looking at my friend.

"She is dead," Ashthar said. And I realized that the thing he was clutching was Dia. A cold dread came over me.

"This is our fault," I said.

"What will Aslan do to us?" Ashthar asked. I could see the fear in his eyes.

"We must go to Him at once," I said. "We must tell him what has transpired here."

"No, no," Ashthar said. "We can't just leave the girl here…To be found by her parents like this. We must…"

He brightened. "Of course! The Song of Life! The notes that Aslan sung to bring forth the plants and animals. We all heard it."

"Ashthar," I said. "Aslan sung those verses by himself. And I do not think…"

"That's right," he said, trying to sound relieved. "You are not thinking. This will work, I am sure of it."

Ashthar opened his mouth and sang the notes of the Song of Life. We had all heard it. When you hear the Song of Life, you never forget it.

But there was something wrong, right away. The notes were correct, but the melody was wrong. The sounds issuing forth from Ashthar's mouth was not the Song that the Lion sung…But instead a dreadful cacophony of noises that would wake the dead.

It awakened Zardeenah instantly. She sat up and looked at Ashthar in horror.

Dia's form began to wiggle in Ashthar's arms. He stood up and smiled, looking quite relieved. Until he actually saw the thing he was looking at. The half-burned mutilated corpse staggered to it's hooves, with a blank look upon it's face, and milk-white cataracts over her eyes.

By Aslan's mane, I have never seen such a horrific sight in all of my days. Ashthar reacted similarly, and backed away from the abomination as quickly as he could.

To my horror, he was still Singing.

"Stop!" I yelled. "Stop Singing!"

Ashthar realized what he was doing, and immediately silenced himself. The thing that was once Dia did not stop moving, however. And a black miasma was beginning to form around her. I was not sure if it came from her body, or from the embers or Ashthar's attempt at a comet, or something else entirely, but it was growing. A darkness, a black fog, surrounding the thing, and growing bigger.

Zardeenah caught herself first, and began to glow softly, pushing the dark miasma away from her body. Ashthar and I did the same, but but it was still growing, it would quickly envelope the entire island. I could feel the energy from this dark cloud. Like a blot upon the soul, this miasma was an echo of Creation. An extension of the Creative force that had Forged Narnia herself.

But it was twisted. Perverted. If a being found itself within this cloud, it would take their dreams…Their actual dreams, and make them a reality.

Including their nightmares.

And we had made it. Forged it ourselves out of our foolishness and arrogance.

I grabbed Zardeenah and Ashthar's hands and ran, both away from the Darkness that surrounded the island, and also away from the Earth itself, wanting to get back to the safety of the sky. But the Dark Cloud reached out, and grabbed me…Dragging us back towards the Earth. I could feel new horrors forming within the cloud…My own nightmares made real.

Zardeenah squeezed my hand, she could feel the pull too. In that instant, we knew we would never leave the Earth again.

"Lion preserve us," I whispered.

And He heard our call.

The Darkness parted around us, and with a triumphat roar, Aslan appeared, a beacon in the inkly blackness. My heart soared as high as Ramandu himself when I saw him, and then we were free, no more than a few hundred feet above the Darkness, but definitely no longer in it. We looked down at it in relief, but only horror came as we saw the miasma coat the entire island.

And I could hear the screams from within the island.

"Who has done this?" The Lion asked.

"It…It was Coriakin," Ashthar said shrinking back from Him.

I was dumbfounded. Utterly shocked. Ashthar was lying to the Lion himself? I could not comprehend it. I was so shocked, that I numbly nodded along.

I had never seen Aslan angry before. And I hope to Him I never see it again. The Great Lion's rage radiated from Him. But it did not fill me with fear. It filled me with shame. He knew the truth. You could not hide it from His piercing golden eyes. He had offered us the chance to accept our own culpability, and we had refused Him.

"What you have done here this day," Aslan said. "Will not so easily be undone."

And with that, the Lion dove into the Darkness below. We waited. For hours. The sun set and night came to the Land of Narnia, before the Lion once more emerged from the Darkness of the island below us. Behind him, looking scared to death, and crying, was a pair of Winged Centaurs. Dia's parents.

And the guilt I felt overwhelmed me. Zardeenah grabbed my shoulder, and steadied me, as the Lion returned to us.

His eyes locked onto mine, and I knew right then, that nothing I ever did for the rest of my life, would ever make up for what I had done today.

To my surprise, He came up to me, and pressed His nose against me, gently comforting me. I had betrayed Him, and still he comforted me.

"Justice, must be done," Aslan said. "You three must be punished for your transgressions today."

"I…I…" I shuddered. "I accept this, my High King."

"Coriakin," Aslan said. "You will be taken to an island west of here. You are to govern a people known as the Duffers. Your sentence will last until the Duffers no longer have need of a governor, and can look after themselves."

"Zardeenah," He said, turning towards her. "There is a young woman in the lands south of Narnia, who will need your help very soon. You are to help all such young women, until such time as I come to relieve you of this task."

"Ashthar," Aslan turned towards my friend. The look of pain on Aslan's face shook me to my core. "You have done great wrong this day. You allowed your pride, and cowardice to rule your better judgement. You are stripped of your beauty, and hereby exiled to the marshland south of Archenland."

"Un…Until when?" Ashthar asked.

"Until you have chosen to accept responsibility for what you have done, instead of blaming others for your choices and actions," Aslan said simply.

The Lion snarled and Ashthar shuddered, collapsing before me. His skin withered and turned black, his hands forming into sharp talons. A second set of arms emerged from his back, like a spindly set of spider arms. His face bulged out, and curved into a wicked, vulture-like beak.

His eyes widened in horror, reaching up and feeling his new face. He shuddered and collapsed.

"How long will he be like this?" Zardeenah asked.

"That is his choice," Aslan said, bowing His head. I could see tears in His eyes. The Lion was weeping.

"Ashthar?" I asked.

"I am not Ashthar," he said, quietly. "My name is gone. I am not a Star any more. I am stone. I am the irresistible. The inexorable. I am Tash."

The star who I once called my dearest friend, suddenly stood up, and ran. He ran towards the West. Faster and faster. Until I could no longer see him.

"What's going to happen to him?" I asked the Lion.

"That is his Story," Aslan said quietly. "I tell no one any story but their own."

"I will watch out for him," Zardeenah said. "Our exiles will not be far from each other. Maybe I can…I can do something."

Zardeenah and I quietly parted ways. Neither of us was quite sure when Aslan left our sides, as he led us to our particular exiles.

_As I write this, my exile is ending. The Dufflepuds, the descendants of the Duffers I was charged with governing, have become wise enough to stand on their own. It was a humbling experience. Zardeenah returned to the sky far sooner than I did. But Ashthar or "Tash" as he now calls himself, never did. In hindsight, I believe that he never will. His exile was designed to end when he took responsibility for his own actions. Of the three of us, he could have returned to the sky the very night we were punished. He did not. He allowed his pride to rule him instead. I suspect now, that Aslan's tears were because He knew that Tash would not return. _

_I understand that he has set himself up as some sort of deity in Calormen, I do not know the full details, and a good part of me does not wish to know. But from what I can tell from various travelers who came upon the island of the Duffers, I think he has been doing more than just that. I think he is attempting to destroy all the records of his life as a Star. Why he should do such a thing is beyond my capacity to reason. But as I do not wish the truth to be lost…I am making a record of these events, to the best of my memory, anyway, and placing it in the care of the Librarians, whom I trust. _


End file.
